Mythical Island's Best, New Cards — Pokémon TCG Pocket
December 21, 2024
The Mythical Island expansion set has truly revived interest in Pokémon TCG Pocket. The mobile card game, in truth, was starting to get rather stale, but the new cards from this mini set have added a nice amount of complexity to the metagame.
While a full expansion set is still slated for release by the end of January 2025, it is still more than worth pulling for some of Mythical Island's biggest chase cards. There are both new strategies and improvements to old strategies. Mythical Island's best cards are making a big impact already.
Serperior — A Superior Ability
It would be impossible to talk about several of the set's best cards without mentioning Serperior first. Jungle Totem, Serperior's Ability, is absolutely incredible. Counting every single Grass Energy as two Energy is an absurdly strong effect. It empowers every Grass Pokémon in the game. Suddenly, Venusaur ex only needs two Grass Energy to use Giant Bloom.
This is without even mentioning the great cards from the Mythical Island set alone that benefit massively from Serperior's presence. More on that later. A 70 damage attack also isn't too bad in a pinch. The only real downside to Serperior is that it is a Stage 2 Pokémon. Needing to evolve a Pokémon twice inherently makes it less reliable. That's a gamble most Grass decks will be willing to take, though.
Vaporeon — Steady Flow Of Water
As if Water decks didn't have enough Energy to play around with, Vaporeon adds a whole new way to supply Water Pokémon with more energy. Vaporeon's Wash Out Ability allows you to move one Water Energy from a Benched Water Pokémon to your Active Water Pokémon. Vaporeon is no Energy generator, but being able to transfer resources is pretty useful. Various Water decks rely on Basic ex Pokémon to open a match, so this card will give those lead Pokémon more purpose after retreating.
This new Vaporeon isn't game changing, but it's a solid option for decks that aren't punished for retreating too much. Vaporeon is worth considering as an addition to a lot of Water decks.
Celebi ex — Small Pokémon, Big Damage
On just a first look, Celebi ex doesn't seem all that impressive. It's a Grass-type version of Zapdos ex with a higher ceiling and lower floor. Zapdos ex isn't exactly some big threat, though, so that doesn't really make Celebi ex stand out. On its own, Celebi isn't really that impressive. The potential to do 100 damage on just the second turn of the game, however, is pretty noteworthy. But what really makes Celebi ex a meta-defining card is the existence of Serperior.
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With Serperior's Ability active on the bench, Celebi ex needs just 1 Grass Energy to potentially do 100 damage. 2 Grass Energy means a potential 200 damage. 3 Grass Energy means a potential 300 damage. You get the idea. Once Celebi ex has made its presence known, opponents need some type of counter ready to go. Chip damage won't work when Grass decks have Erika available to them for sizable heals. Celebi ex can be an absolute menace.
Dhelmise — An Early Anchor
Most decks appreciate a good lead Pokémon, and Dhelmise can absolutely be that for any Grass deck. 100 HP is a phenomenal amount of health for a first turn Pokémon to have. A retreat cost of 2 also makes retreat fairly feasible, which isn't the case for a card like Kangaskhan.
Dhelmise is another Pokémon that benefits a lot from having Serperior around. Dhelmise needs just 1 Energy to attack, but 4 Grass Energy allows it to deal 90 damage. Of course, with Serperior, Dhelmise would only need 2 Grass Energy to get its damage boost. That is a lot of pressure for a Pokémon to offer so early into a match. With the potential for an even stronger ex Pokémon to come into the game afterward, Grass decks can really feel relentless.
Mythical Slab — Clairvoyant Consistency
Item cards aren't the most exciting thing in the world, but Mythical Slab fits very nicely into Psychic decks. After using the card, you either draw a Psychic-type Pokémon or you have a greater chance of drawing one during your next draw. It's simple, but effective. Being able to get through your Pokémon faster is always going to be a good thing.
Leaf — Retreat Easy
The Mythical Island set has very clearly realized the value of retreating within the game. Vaporeon, in particular, wants to be a part of decks that are mindful of how they can retreat cheaply. Leaf is a great card for those decks. In general, she is very useful.
X Speed is a nice card to have, but Leaf is much better in the mid-game and late-game. While you might want to prioritize another Supporter card at that point in the game, Leaf is a great option to keep big cards away from certain doom. Energy preservation can make a big difference, so Leaf can really be of big help to various strategies.
